Hotel Guadalupe to close for first time in 29 years

The Hotel Sol Melliá Guadalupe in Magalluf will close for the first time in 29 years, because of “the low bookings,” its director, Luis Orejuda, said yesterday. He added that it did not make sense to keep a hotel with more than 500 rooms open for just 20 guests. The hotel will be closed for three or four months. The director said that the move did not affect guests and workers, who will be transferred to other hotels in the chain. He added that at the moment, negotiations were underway to transfer the 60 full time workers to other hotels belonging to the chain in the same resort while the Guadalupe is closed. The announcement that the hotel would close comes shortly after revelations that this year many hotels are closing one month earlier than usual because of poor bookings. Tomás Pons, chairman of the Palmanova-Magalluf hoteliers association, said that the seasonal nature of tourism in the are is becoming more noticeable. He added that “prospects are getting worse because there are no advance sales.” As to reasons, he said that the market may have grown tired of the Balearics, or there are no inducements to come here in winter. The price is no longer sufficient an attraction, he said.